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The cycle of sin. What is it and how do we deal with it? This Book of Judges Object Lesson explains the cycle of sin and compares the Israelites’ cycle with our own.

Scripture Focus: Judges 2:7-23

Materials: Paper plate (see images for labeling); Scissors; Print out 3-4 M.C. Escher pictures. I copied the image and then pasted it into a Word document. Because of copyright, I cannot give you those images. {This link takes you to the Escher Gallery.}

Geography:Israel

Background: Joshua and the Israelites were to take the Promised Land by entering westward over the Jordan River and then dividing the land in half. Then there would be a southern campaign and then a northern campaign to conquer all of the cities and peoples. Before he died, Joshua gave the nation a farewell address. He told the people to finish conquering the Canaanites. And to remember everything that they had seen the Lord do for them. He encouraged them to be strong and to obey the Lord. And then he warned the people to get rid of the idols in the land. In conclusion, Joshua challenged the people to choose: “Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord.” Continue reading →

I did not win the prize for Christian parenting this week. How about you? I lost my temper…again. I forgot to do morning devotionals with my kids…again. And I’m sitting here typing this on my computer instead of dealing with some relationship squabbles among my kids.

Some days it is easier to hide from the world than adult.

I wonder if Moses and Joshua felt that way when dealing with the Israelites? I bet they did. Moses struck a rock out of frustration one day instead of speaking to it as God told him to. He probably wanted to crawl into a hole after that.

Joshua? I think he focused on winning battles instead of dealing with people.

I find it encouraging to know that the men and women of the Bible had issues.

And WOW does the Book of Judges show us the sin issues of humanity!

Once Joshua and the elders died, the people turned away from God. All it took was one generation of not teaching the children about the Lord and BOOM, and the next generation did not know God.

How do we follow Jesus? We look for the signs! God has given us several tools so that we can hear His voice and have a personal relationship with Him. Unfortunately, there are lots of things that can distract us. Our job is to discern what is distracting us and focus on the voice of God.

Scripture Focus: Begin your lesson by reading this verse straight from the Bible. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 ESV

* If you are doing this lesson with older students, you may want to discuss this verse in depth. Today’s society thinks there are lots of ways to get connected to God. You could make a list of them and discuss why they are actually not the true way to connect to God. This may take a bit of research and knowledge of world religions. If you choose to use this lesson at the beginning of a unit on following Jesus, this will give you more time to research.

Things that might represent drawing away from Jesus. {These things don’t have to be inherently evil, just things that might draw our attention away from God if we let them—pretend money, technology items, different kinds of music, popular magazines, candy, clothing, or anything else that could distract a child.}

A Jesus Sign–This can be “Jesus” written on a piece of paper or even a picture.

FEAR. You can’t see it, but you can sure see the effects of it. In this Joshua Takes Command Object Lesson, use a simple science experiment to help children understand that God asks us to make hard decisions and that He is with us wherever we go.

We like to exaggerate situations at times. We claim we cannot do something because the task seems huge and daunting. This Twelve Spies and the Wandering Object Lesson will help our children to understand that with Jesus we have already won the victory even if life seems hard.

Background: The Israelites were given freedom from Egypt by the miraculous hand of God. God gave the Israelites some rules called the Ten Commandments. These Commandments would be The Law that everyone in the nation would follow. These laws were given to the people by God to protect them, to set them apart from the other nations, and to teach them how to live for God.

By the time the Hebrews reached Mt. Sinai, they had seen many wonders by God. They were beginning to see God fulfill His promises to Abraham. A nation was beginning to form. A great nation needs rules and they now had the Ten Commandments, as well as many other laws and regulations. God had given Moses the directions to build the tabernacle and the priesthood was set up through the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron. Continue reading →

What would life be like if there were no love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self control? It would be awful! Join us as we “taste” the fruits of the spirit and see just how good they are!

Scripture Focus: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galations 5:22-23 ESV

Materials: A variety of 9 fruits (already cut into bite size pieces), bowls, spoons, and a piece of rotten fruit (You can easily make a banana go rotten if you don’t have anything else.)

Background: The Apostle Paul was writing to the church in Galatia to teach them how to keep in step with the Spirit. He had warned them against things to look out for. Now he was teaching them about things to focus on. He wanted the people to know what it looks like to walk with Christ. Continue reading →

With a GPS, these days it can be difficult to get lost. However, relying on technology that *could* be incorrect might steer you in the wrong direction. This Moses and the Law object lesson teaches children the purpose of the law and what Jesus expects from those who follow Him.

Scripture Focus: Exodus 20

Materials: Road map

Geography: locate Egypt, Israel, and the Red Sea

Background: The Israelites were forced into slavery and God raised up Moses to be The Deliverer. Pharaoh’s heart had been hardened even after nine horrible nationwide plagues that destroyed Egypt’s economy and way of life. But Pharaoh’s heart still would not allow the people of Israel to leave his nation. The tenth and final plague caused a cry to be heard throughout Egypt as the Angel of Death killed the first born of all Egypt and passed over the homes with the blood of the lamb on the doors. Continue reading →

Use a blanket in this object lesson to teach that the Holy Spirit will wrap us in comfort whenever we face difficult times in life.

Scripture Focus: John 14

Materials: Blanket and/or stuffed animal

{Hold up the blanket. Say:}

When you look around you have probably seen toddlers carrying around a blanket or stuffed animal wherever they go.

Why do they carry these things around? (Allow for responses.)

Most toddlers feel safer with their favorite blanket or bear. Older people say that those items are a comfort item. If the toddler loses his or her blanket or bear they may become sad and begin to cry.

Some adults have comforting things as well. Usually this is in the form of food, such as chocolate, or a dish such as macaroni and cheese.

Do you have something that is a comfort to you? It could be a bear or blanket or even something else. (Allow for responses.)

Why is Jesus sometimes called the Passover lamb? This Passover Object lesson will explore the main events of this horrific incident in history as one nation is destroyed while another is born.

Scripture Focus: Exodus 11-12

Materials: None

Geography: locate Canaan, Egypt, and Goshen

Background:Joseph had set the seventy-ish member family up in the beautiful land of Goshen, which was THE prized land of Egypt. However, pharaohs came and went, and then there were leaders who did not know Joseph. The Israelites were forced into slavery and God raised up Moses to be The Deliverer. Pharaoh’s heart had been hardened even after nine horrible nationwide plagues that destroyed Egypt’s economy and way of life. But Pharaoh’s heart still would not allow the people of Israel to leave his nation. Continue reading →

Materials: apple {Before the lesson cut a small hole and soak it in food dye of several different colors mixed together so it turns all brown and yucky inside.}

{Hold up the apple. Say:}

Everybody loves apples.

Here in the United States we have an entire tall tale based around a man who spent his entire life planting apple trees all around the country. There are dozens of different kinds of apples you can buy at the grocery store.

Look at this apple here. Doesn’t it look awesome to eat? It’s amazing and pretty, it’s got that perfect shine to it.

{Cut apple.}

But, if we cut into the apple and look inside, we see it doesn’t look so pretty on the inside.

The people of a nation are affected by the heart condition of their leader. This Ten Plagues object lesson helps children describe why God sent the plagues He did and how they affected the Egyptian and the Hebrew people.

Scripture Focus: Exodus 7-11 {This is a large amount of scripture, but to get the full effect, it is good to look at the plagues as a whole. Depending upon your time limit, you might want to do this lesson as 2 sessions.}

Background: Abraham passed the four part covenant on to Isaac, who passed it to Jacob. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Jacob was the father of 12 sons. At his death, Israel passed on the promise to Judah, which is interesting because he is NOT the oldest son. In fact, he is forth in line. Evidently the choices that Reuben, Simeon, and Levi made in Genesis 34-35:22; and 49:3-7 caused God to skip them and give the promise to Judah and his generations. Joseph had his 70ish member family live in the beautiful land of Goshen, which was THE prized land of Egypt. However, pharaohs come and go, and soon there were leaders who did not know Joseph. Continue reading →

God makes many promises in the Bible. But sometimes we are so busy that we either miss them, or expect those promises to happen quickly, in our time. God doesn’t work that way though. He makes wonderful promises and fulfills them when HE wants them to happen. This story of Joseph object lesson will help your children understand that they can still be lights in the darkness, even when God is not in a hurry.

Scripture Focus: Genesis 37-47 [This is a lot of scripture, but in order to show that God works in His time for His glory, we need to see the big picture of Joseph’s life.]

Wrestling with God. Fighting with God. Everyone does it. And everyone will encounter God at some point in their lives. This Jacob Wrestles with God Object Lesson will help children to understand that we must surrender our sinful lives to then be blessed with eternal life.

Scripture Focus: Genesis 32

Materials: Container, water, cornstarch, towels {To make Oobleck: 1 cup of water to 1.5-2 cups of cornstarch. Put the water in the container. Slowly add the cornstarch. Mixing can be tricky. Oobleck has the properties of solids and liquids. You can punch it and it feels solid. If you slowly put your hand on it, it will sink into the material. Add cornstarch until you can do this. You’ll probably have to mix with your hands.}

Geography: Jabbok River; land of Israel

Background: Jacob has been in Haran at his Uncle Laban’s house for 20 years. Jacob now has 2 wives and 11 children. Jacob was extremely nervous about meeting his brother after tricking him years before.

Names are very important in the Bible. Many times parents chose to wait a few days to give their children names. Names were to be a reflection of the person’s character or personality. Jacob’s name meant “Deceiver.” When in a battle, it was a form of surrender to state your name to the opposition.

Going into ministry I felt completely prepared. My training and experience before my first full year was great. I had the tools, the theological training, and the right people in place to call if I needed the help.

The problem was I got caught up in the charge and excitement in the first year. I often forgot about the tools I had collected over the years. I gathered them up during the momentum of the year but instead of using them I kept them in my toolbox. As I look back I wish I had broken out that toolbox, but the main reason I didn’t was because I felt like I had no time.

As you and I both know, you do not have time for more when you are in ministry, but let me encourage you to create space to break into that toolbox. I have since learned and continue to learn to prepare for more space, for more sanity, and for God. Continue reading →

Christmas is about Jesus. He’s the main character. But sometimes focusing on the lesser known people can teach us quite a bit. This Birth of Jesus object lesson focuses on Joseph and his role in an event that changed the world.

Scripture Focus: Matthew 1:18-25

Materials: Gold/yellow, black, red, white, and green poster board

Geography: locate Nazareth and Bethlehem

Background: An angel appeared to Mary explaining that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. She was to be married to Joseph, but when he was told that she was pregnant, that changed everything. Continue reading →

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